Fourteenth Sunday After Pentecost, August 25, Season of Creation
Season of Creation
ORDER OF SERVICE BULLETIN
8:00 & 10:30 AM, Holy Eucharist
Welcome to The Episcopal Church of the Holy Communion, a welcoming and diverse community seeking to walk in the Way of Jesus and to reveal Christ’s reconciling love in our city, nation, and world.
Get Involved: If you fill out a “Let’s Get Connected Card” found in your pew, or at the Welcome Table by the door where you came into the church, we’d be glad to keep you up to date with all that’s happening at Holy Communion. Or, simply scan the QR code below to visit holycommunion.net where you can share your contact information, find a worship bulletin, read the latest news, and more.
Communion: “These are the gifts of God for the people of God.”
At The Church of the Holy Communion, we believe that it is Christ himself who invites us to meet him in the bread and the cup. Though it is known by many names - Communion, Mass, Holy Eucharist, The Lord’s Supper, the Sacrament of the Altar - it is the means by which Christ’s real presence abides with us by faith. Therefore, all are welcome to receive. When it comes time for Communion, please follow the directions of the Greeters. The bread is offered to all, with gluten free wafers available, upon request, from the minister. If you would like to receive the wine, you may either drink from the cup, or intinct (dip) the wafer in the wine. Likewise, it is acceptable to receive only the bread, if for personal or health reasons you prefer to not consume wine. Those not receiving Communion, may also come forward. Indicate to the minister that you do not wish to receive Communion by simply crossing your arms across your chest, and the minister will offer a prayer for God’s blessing in your life.
Kids are expected! Kids are welcome to "act their age" and encouraged to fully participate in worship. Kids may use the "Pray Ground” (carpeted area near the chapel), take a Worship Wonder bag from the back of the Nave, or join their adults with kids' worship bulletins and crayons provided by greeters. Starting September 8th, Godly Play is offered downstairs beginning at 10 am. Kids return to their caregivers at 11am in time for the Peace. Mitchell Hall is our designated infant feeding area during the service. If you need assistance finding any of these options, just ask a Greeter.
Accessibility: “Priority Seating” is provided for caretakers of those with mobility needs. Our entrances have auto-open buttons, and our elevator is ADA compliant. Both the downstairs restrooms and one of the upstairs restrooms are accessible.
Hearing Assistance: Hearing assistance devices are available from the welcome table. If you have any questions, just ask a Greeter.
Donations: We welcome donations to support the mission and ministry Episcopal Church of the Holy Communion. Monetary donations can be placed in the offering plate that will be passed during the service, put in the wooden offering box found at the Welcome Table, by scanning the QR code below, or by electronic donations set up through your bank or on the church website, holycommunion.net
The 2024 Discernment Team Needs Holy Communion’s help!
What is Discernment? It is the ability to choose or judge well, often using spiritual guidance to help make a decision. The Discernment Team is working hard to gather as much information as possible in order to choose a new Rector, and it is extremely important to hear your opinions!
The Discernment Team is hosting Congregational Discussion Sessions with the Holy Communion Community to assist in answering the questions “who are we?” and “what are we looking for in our next Rector?”
Please attend a session to voice your opinion! To view Discussion Session times and sign-up online, visit holycommunion.net, or add your name to the sign-up sheet located in the Narthex.
Our 2024 Discernment Team
Shirley Mensah and Jean Parker, Co-chairs;
Denise Carpenter, Nancy Donohoo, Anita Donahou, Peter Fairchild,
Scott Lunte, Karen Payne, Tyler Schwartz, Michael Stokes,
Andrew Wasson, and Alisa Williams.
Preparing to Worship Please pray silently.
A Prayer in a Season of Discernment
God our Creator,
You have a plan for each of us,
You hold out to us a future full of hope.
Give us the wisdom of your Spirit
So that we can see the shape of your plan
In the gifts you have given us,
And in the circumstances of our daily lives.
Give us the freedom of your Spirit,
To seek you with all our hearts,
And to choose Your will above all else.
Through Jesus Christ our Lord,
Who with you and the Holy Spirit
Lives and reigns, one God, now and forever. Amen.
✠
Prelude (10:30 Service)
Welcome
Processional Hymn (10:30 Service) SEE INSERT
Please rise in body or spirit.
Opening Acclamation
Celebrant This is the day the Creator has made!
People Let us rejoice and be glad in it! Amen.
Celebrant Almighty God, to you all hearts are open, all desires known, and from you no secrets are hid. Cleanse the thoughts of our hearts by the inspiration of your Holy Spirit,
that we may perfectly love you, and worthily magnify your holy Name; through Christ
our Lord. Amen
Canticle of Praise (spoken in unison) A Song of Creation Benedicite, omnia opera Domini
All you works of God, bless your creator;
praise her and glorify her for ever.
Let the wide Earth bless the creator;
let the arching heavens bless the creator;
let the whole body of God bless the creator;
praise her and glorify her for ever.
You returning daylight, bless your creator;
twilight and shadows, bless your creator;
embracing darkness, bless your creator;
praise her and glorify her for ever.
Let all who live and grow and breathe bless our creator,
praise her and glorify her for ever.
Liturgy of the Word
The first part of the service is the Liturgy of the Word, in which we read and respond to appointed lessons from Scripture. We hear the stories of the experience of God from our spiritual ancestors. Following an ancient pattern originally from Jewish synagogue worship, readings follow a calendar, or “lectionary,” shared by Christians around the world.
Collect of the Day SEE INSERT
Celebrant God be with you.
People And also with you.
Celebrant Let us pray.
The Celebrant leads the congregation in the Collect.
The Lessons
Please be seated.
First Lesson
Reader Hear what the Spirit is saying to all God’s creation.
People Thanks be to God.
The Psalm
(spoke in unison) SEE INSERT
Second Lesson: Quote on Creation SEE INSERT
Reader Hear what the Spirit is saying to all God’s creation.
People Thanks be to God.
Gospel Processional Hymn
(10:30 Service) SEE INSERT
Please rise in body or spirit.
The Holy Gospel SEE INSERT
Please remain standing.
Before the Gospel Reading, sung at the 10:30 service. Be Still and Know
Deacon The Holy Gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ according to ______.
People Glory to you, Lord Christ.
After the Gospel Reading
Deacon The Gospel of the Lord.
People Praise to you, Lord Christ.
Repeat sung “Be Still and Know” at the 10:30 service.
Sermon
A moment of silence is observed, following the sermon.
Affirmation of Faith (spoken in unison) Colossians 1:15-20
This “poem” or hymn of Christ, was written by the Apostle Paul around 60 CE, approximately 250 years prior to the more familiar Nicene Creed.
Please rise, or kneel, in body or in spirit. Spoken in unison.
Jesus Christ is the image of the invisible God,
the firstborn of all creation;
for in him all things in heaven and on earth were created,
things visible and invisible,
whether thrones or dominions or rulers or powers—
all things have been created through him and for him.
He himself is before all things,
and in him all things hold together.
And he is the head of the body, the church;
he is the beginning, the firstborn from the dead,
so that he might come to have first place in everything.
For in him all the fullness of God was pleased to dwell,
and through him God was pleased
to reconcile to himself all things,
whether on earth or in heaven,
by making peace through the blood of his cross.
The Prayers of the People: Intercessory Prayers for Creation
Leader Loving God, even the sparrow has found a home, and the swallow a nest for herself,
where she places her young near Your altar. You are attentive to all you have made.
God, who listens to every living thing,
People Help us listen as you do.
Leader Loving God, help us provide refuge to every animal and plant with whom we live. Help us be attentive to all you have made.
God, in whom all creation subsists,
People Help us listen as you do.
Leader Loving God, when Jesus cried out and gave up his Spirit, the earth shook and the rocks split. You are known by the whole of Creation that listens to you. Be with our parish during this season of discernment. Grant us patient wisdom to listen to your guidance.
God, to whom all creation responds,
People Help us respond to you.
Leader Loving God, help us hear and know you just as the earth and rocks do. Help us to learn from the way in which we see Creation recognize your glorious beauty.
God, to whom all creation responds,
People Help us respond to you.
Leader Loving God, you are present in your Creation and seek to heal her wounds. You can be
found walking in the garden. Open our eyes to see you, the gardener, tending to the
needs of all living things. Remembering especially __________. (The people may add their
petitions, silently or aloud.)
God, who is present with your Creation,
People Help us be present, too.
Leader Loving God, we often abandon your creation and cause its wounds. Help us to follow in
your footsteps and learn to walk in the garden like you. Remembering all your faithful
ministers, including Michael, our Presiding Bishop, Sean, our Presiding Bishop-elect, and
Deon, our Bishop.
God, who is present with your creation,
People Help us be present, too.
Leader Loving God, who hears every voice, knows each cry of injustice, and is attentive to the
suffering of the earth: teach us to listen. Bring healing to our lives, that we may protect
the world and not prey on it, that we may listen to the world you have created and not
close ourselves off from it. Reveal to us the ways in which we have failed to hear your
voice in how we treat the earth.
God, who listens to every living thing,
People Help us listen as you do. Amen.
Deacon Let us confess our sins against God and God’s creation.
A moment of silence is observed.
Deacon and people in unison.
Merciful and sustaining God, we have sinned against you.
We confess our lack of gratitude for the beauty and bounty of your creation: teach us to see that your earth sustains us and all that lives.
We confess that we have misused your Earth: grant us amendment of life.
We confess that we have not cared for your creatures, including our neighbors: forgive our willful offenses.
We confess that we have been intemperate in our appetites: strengthen us in self-control.
We confess that we have taken the abundance of your world for granted: make us urgent now for its protection.
Forgive and renew us now through our Savior Jesus Christ, by the power of the Holy Spirit, with whom you live and reign, one God, now and for ever. Amen.
The Celebrant concludes with an absolution or a suitable Collect.
Almighty God, have mercy on you, forgive you all your sins through our Lord Jesus Christ, strengthen you in all goodness, and by the power of the Holy Spirit keep you in eternal life. Amen.
The Peace Please rise in body or in spirit.
Celebrant The peace of Christ be always with you.
People And also with you.
We greet one another with a sign of God’s peace.
Welcome and Announcements
Please be seated for a few brief announcements. On the first Sunday of the month, we remember birthdays for the month, and invite those celebrating birthdays to come forward, as one of the clergy offers prayers and blessings.
Offertory Sentence
Celebrant “The first law of our being is that we are set in a delicate network of interdependence with our fellow human beings and with the rest of God’s creation.”
- Archbishop Desmond Tutu, God Has A Dream
Therefore, walk in love, as Christ loved us and gave himself for us, an offering and sacrifice to God. - Ephesians 5:2
Offertory Anthem
At the 10:30 service, a musical offering is presented by the choir or soloist.
Offertory Hymn
At the 10:30 service, please rise in body or in spirit and sing as the ushers bring forward our offerings.
The Liturgy of the Table
The second part of the liturgy moves to the Table. As we remember Jesus’ last supper with his disciples, we gather in a way Christians have done since earliest times. At The Episcopal Church of the Holy Communion, all are welcome at the Communion Table.
Please rise in body or in spirit.
The Eucharistic Prayer
Celebrant God be with you.
People And also with you.
Celebrant Lift up your hearts
People We lift them to the Lord.
Celebrant Let us give thanks to the Lord our God.
People It is right to give our thanks and praise.
Praise and thanks are yours, our Creating God. From the dust of the Earth you shaped human beings in your own image, and you filled the earth and seas and skies with a myriad of wonders. Yet we consistently turn your generosity into our scarcity, your elegance into our meanness, and your simplicity into our corruption.
Though we poison and destroy your good Creation, you continue to offer us your abundance. In your mercy, you have redeemed us through your Son, Jesus, transforming death into life.
Through the Spirit you continue to call us into covenant with you—for the restoration of Creation and the reconciliation of all people.
And so we give you thanks, rejoicing with all of Creation, as we join the saints and angels in their unending hymn:
The people join together in the Sanctus (Sung at the 10:30 service), and then the presider continues.
On the night that Jesus was betrayed, he took bread, and gave thanks to God. He broke the bread, gave it to his friends and said: “Take and eat, for this is my body, given for you. Do this in remembrance of me.”
He took the wine, and gave thanks to God, Creator. He gave it to his friends saying: “This is my blood of the new covenant, shed for you and for all creation for the forgiveness of sins. Every time you drink the wine, do this in remembrance of me.”
So we proclaim the mystery of faith:
Christ has died.
Christ is risen.
Christ will come again.
Merciful God, we come to this table seeking reconciliation: with you, with one another, and with all creation. Through these mysteries reconcile us to our world and empower us to restore your Creation and fulfill your will. Send your life-giving Spirit upon us, and upon this bread and wine. Stir in us the creative and redeem the destructive. Heal your stricken world, that the soil, the skies, and the seas may be filled with your life anew.
Fill every heart with the sure and certain hope that we shall enter into the fullness of your joy, when your whole Creation is justified by faith and sanctified by love, and you are all in all. Through Christ and with Christ and in Christ, in the unity of the Spirit, all honor and glory is yours, everlasting God, now and forever.
AMEN.
Sung at the 10:30 service. L233
The Lord’s Prayer
Celebrant And now as our Savior Christ has taught us, and in the language of our heart, we pray:
Our Father who art in heaven, hallowed be thy Name, thy kingdom come, thy will be done, on earth as it is in heaven. Give us this day our daily bread. And forgive us our trespasses as we forgive those who trespass against us. And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil. For thine is the kingdom, and the power, and the glory, for ever and ever. Amen.
Padre nuestro que estás en el cielo, santificado sea tu Nombre, venga tu reino, hágase tu voluntad, en la tierra como en el cielo. Danos hoy nuestro pan de cada día. Perdona nuestras ofensas, como también nosotros perdonamos a los que nos ofenden. No nos dejes caer en tentación y líbranos del mal. Porque tuyo es el reino, tuyo es el poder, y tuya es la gloria, ahora y por siempre. Amén.
The Breaking of the Bread
Celebrant This is Living Bread, given for all Creation.
People All who eat this bread share in Christ’s Body.
The congregation may be seated.
Communion Hymns SEE INSERT
The congregation is invited to join in the singing of communion hymns
Post Communion Prayer Prayer of St. Francis of Assisi
Please rise in body or in spirit.
Celebrant Let us pray
People Lord, make us instruments of your peace. Where there is hatred, let us sow love; where there is injury, pardon; where there is discord, union; where there is doubt, faith; where there is despair, hope; where there is darkness, light; where there is sadness, joy. Grant that we may not so much seek to be consoled as to console; to be understood as to understand; to be loved as to love. For it is in giving that we receive; it is in pardoning that we are pardoned; and it is in dying that we are born to
eternal life. Amen.
Sending of Lay Eucharistic Visitors
At various times, Lay Eucharistic Visitors take the consecrated bread and wine to those who cannot physically be present for worship. When we do so, the following prayer may be offered:
Deacon We send you forth, bearing these holy gifts, that those to whom you go may share with
us in the Body and Blood of Christ our Savior.
People We who are many are one body, because we all share one bread, one cup.
The Blessing
Recessional Hymn SEE INSERT
Dismissal
Deacon Tend the earth,
Care for God’s good Creation;
As you have received freely, so give freely.
Go in peace to love and serve the Lord!
People Thanks be to God!
Postlude (10:30 Service)
✠
Parish Staff
The Rev. C. Earl Mahan, Interim Rector
call 314-721-7401 x303 text 314-996-9814
The Rev. Julie Graham, Associate Rector
call 314-721-7401 x302 text 314-886-7594
The Rev. Chester Hines, Deacon
call 314-367-7332
Darcy Brainard, Parish Administrator
call 314-721-7401
Mary Chapman, Director of Music
Earl Naylor, Organist
organist@holycommunion.net
Jim Kern, Financial Administrator
Parish Vestry
Fran Caradonna, Senior Warden
Rudy Walz, Junior Warden
Kellie McCoy, Treasurer
Pat Redington, Secretary
Rebecca Comas
Bob Lowes
Heidi Volkl
Andrew Wasson
Tim Anderson
Music used and reprinted with permission under OneLicense #A-704988,
WorshipCast License #13476, and St. James Music Press License #14747
Cover Image
A Bird Preaches to St. Francis
Kelly Latimore Icons Used with Permission
INSERT:
Fourteenth Sunday After Pentecost: August 25
Music sung at 10:30 service
Prelude: Elevation by Francois Couperin
Processional Hymn: How Lovely is Thy Dwelling-Place H517
Sequence Hymn: Be Still and Know
Offertory Anthem: Prayer of Mother Teresa by Craig Courtney
Offertory Hymn: The Light of the World
Communion Hymns: Breathe on Me, Breath of God H508
Like the Murmur of the Dove’s Song H513
Recessional Hymn: In Christ There is no East or West H529
Postlude: Fugue sur les Trompette by Francois Couperin
The Collect
Grant, O merciful God, that your Church, being gathered together in unity by your Holy Spirit, may show forth your power among all peoples, to the glory of your Name; through Jesus Christ our Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever. Amen.
First Lesson: 1 Kings 8: [1, 6, 10-11], 22-30, 41-43
[Solomon assembled the elders of Israel and all the heads of the tribes, the leaders of the ancestral houses of the Israelites, before King Solomon in Jerusalem, to bring up the ark of the covenant of the Lord out of the city of David, which is Zion. Then the priests brought the ark of the covenant of the Lord to its place, in the inner sanctuary of the house, in the most holy place, underneath the wings of the cherubim. And when the priests came out of the holy place, a cloud filled the house of the Lord, so that the priests could not stand to minister because of the cloud; for the glory of the Lord filled the house of the Lord.]
Then Solomon stood before the altar of the Lord in the presence of all the assembly of Israel, and spread out his hands to heaven. He said, “O Lord, God of Israel, there is no God like you in heaven above or on earth beneath, keeping covenant and steadfast love for your servants who walk before you with all their heart, the covenant that you kept for your servant my father David as you declared to him; you promised with your mouth and have this day fulfilled with your hand. Therefore, O Lord, God of Israel, keep for your servant my father David that which you promised him, saying, ‘There shall never fail you a successor before me to sit on the throne of Israel, if only your children look to their way, to walk before me as you have walked before me.’ Therefore, O God of Israel, let your word be confirmed, which you promised to your servant my father David.
“But will God indeed dwell on the earth? Even heaven and the highest heaven cannot contain you, much less this house that I have built! Regard your servant’s prayer and his plea, O Lord my God, heeding the cry and the prayer that your servant prays to you today; that your eyes may be open night and day toward this house, the place of which you said, ‘My name shall be there,’ that you may heed the prayer that your servant prays toward this place. Hear the plea of your servant and of your people Israel when they pray toward this place; O hear in heaven your dwelling place; heed and forgive.
“Likewise when a foreigner, who is not of your people Israel, comes from a distant land because of your name —for they shall hear of your great name, your mighty hand, and your outstretched arm—when a foreigner comes and prays toward this house, then hear in heaven your dwelling place, and do according to all that the foreigner calls to you, so that all the peoples of the earth may know your name and fear you, as do your people Israel, and so that they may know that your name has been invoked on this house that I have built.
Psalm 84 Spoken in unison
1 How dear to me is your dwelling, O Lord of hosts! *
My soul has a desire and longing for the courts of the Lord;
my heart and my flesh rejoice in the living God.
2 The sparrow has found her a house
and the swallow a nest where she may lay her young; *
by the side of your altars, O Lord of hosts,
my King and my God.
3 Happy are they who dwell in your house! *
they will always be praising you.
4 Happy are the people whose strength is in you! *
whose hearts are set on the pilgrims' way.
5 Those who go through the desolate valley will find it a place of springs, *
for the early rains have covered it with pools of water.
6 They will climb from height to height, *
and the God of gods will reveal himself in Zion.
7 Lord God of hosts, hear my prayer; *
hearken, O God of Jacob.
8 Behold our defender, O God; *
and look upon the face of your Anointed.
9 For one day in your courts is better than a thousand in my own room, *
and to stand at the threshold of the house of my God
than to dwell in the tents of the wicked.
10 For the Lord God is both sun and shield; *
he will give grace and glory;
11 No good thing will the Lord withhold *
from those who walk with integrity.
12 O Lord of hosts, *
happy are they who put their trust in you!
Second Lesson: Wendell Berry (1934), The Gift of Good Land
To live, we must daily break the body and shed the blood of Creation. When we do this knowingly, lovingly, skillfully, reverently, it is a sacrament. When we do it ignorantly, greedily, clumsily, destructively, it is a desecration. In such desecration we condemn ourselves to spiritual and moral loneliness, and others to want.
The Gospel: John 6:56-69
Jesus said, “Those who eat my flesh and drink my blood abide in me, and I in them. Just as the living Father sent me, and I live because of the Father, so whoever eats me will live because of me. This is the bread that came down from heaven, not like that which your ancestors ate, and they died. But the one who eats this bread will live forever.” He said these things while he was teaching in the synagogue at Capernaum.
When many of his disciples heard it, they said, “This teaching is difficult; who can accept it?” But Jesus, being aware that his disciples were complaining about it, said to them, “Does this offend you? Then what if you were to see the Son of Man ascending to where he was before? It is the spirit that gives life; the flesh is useless. The words that I have spoken to you are spirit and life. But among you there are some who do not believe.” For Jesus knew from the first who were the ones that did not believe, and who was the one that would betray him. And he said, “For this reason I have told you that no one can come to me unless it is granted by the Father.”
Because of this many of his disciples turned back and no longer went about with him. So Jesus asked the twelve, “Do you also wish to go away?” Simon Peter answered him, “Lord, to whom can we go? You have the words of eternal life. We have come to believe and know that you are the Holy One of God.”
Announcements
More information on upcoming events can be found at holycommunion.net/info
Discernment Congregational Discussion Sessions: We need to hear from as many people as possible as we begin to formulate the parish profile to select a new Rector. Please sign up to participate! Go to holycommunion.net and click the “Transitions” tab to access the link, or use the sign-up sheet in the Narthex.
Stewardship Service Opportunity! The Stewardship Committee is looking to expand its membership. We need help organizing the annual campaign, thanking people, and celebrating the generosity of our members. If you are good with numbers, or if you understand technology, or if you just like celebrating our parish, you would enjoy this opportunity. Contact Michael Salsich (314-971-9782) if you are interested.
2024 Food Drive - Community Care Cupboard: This year’s new ministry effort will support and aid University City School District’s food pantry. HoCo is collecting items for families and students in need. Please help keep our students nourished by donating what you can! Donations can be left in the Community Care Cupboard bins in the Narthex. Questions? Email Maryanne at coley7365@sbcglobal.net.
Godly Play 2024/25: Godly Play restarts on Sunday, September 8 for the upcoming school year! Godly Play is for children ready to engage in an hour-long structured experience without a caregiver present. Children can join our amazing Godly Play teachers at 10 a.m. every Sunday beginning Sept. 8, unless otherwise specified, in Classroom A. Sign-up on our website (click Education > Godly Play > Sign up for Godly Play) or fill out the form located in the Pray Ground. Volunteer to help by emailing jgraham@holycommunion.net.
Adult Forum Returns Sept 8! Join Rabbi Elizabeth Hersh on September 8, as she guest preaches on the book of Ruth at both services, and during our first Adult Forum of the season (Mitchell Hall at 9 a.m.).
Dinners Across Differences: Metro Community Church has invited Holy Communion members to host dinners to stimulate bonding by sharing a meal that encourages understanding and conversation. Join the Open House on Sunday, September 8, 4-7 pm to get your "tool kit” and receive guided skills on hosting. Contact Rev. Julie at jgraham@holycommunion.net if you would like to be a dinner host!
HoCo PACK Planning Zoom: Holy Communion Parents & Caregivers gather to pray, share, and plan on Tues, Sept. 10 at 8 p.m. to pray and discuss children’s ministry and calendar events. Contact Rev. Julie for the Zoom link to participate at jgraham@holycommunion.net.
Office Help Needed: Do you have a few spare hours in your week? We would love to have your help in the office as a volunteer! Please email Parish Administrator, Darcy Brainard to sign up: office@holycommunion.net.
Servers
Preacher: The Reverend Earl Mahan
Deacon: The Reverend Chester Hines
Organist: Earl Naylor
Soloist: Leslie Caplan
Readers: Lisa Hummel (8 am), Jordan Houry, Percy Kaylor (10:30 am)
Greeters: Mark Willingham (8 am), Susan Norris, Marlene O’Brien (10:30 am)
Chalice Bearer: Percy Kaylor (8 am), Kari Potts (10:30 am)
Crucifer: William Kelly
Announcements: Rudy Walz (8 am), Bob Lowes (10:30 am)
Intercessor: Elizabeth Hines (8 am), Mary Waters (10:30 am)
Producer: Rebecca Comas
